Podcast 88: It’s “Talk Like a Pirate, Teach Like a Pro” Day

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Jokes:

What’s a pirate’s favorite TV show?  E ARRRRRRRrrrrrrgghhhh!
3.14159% of sailors are Pi Rates …
September 19th is also National Cheeseburger Day.  (All the pirates will be at HAarrrdee’s.)

Pirate Name Generator
Shawn’s pirate name: Frownin’ Tad Hacke
Troy’s pirate name:  Cowerin’ Joe Smythe

Shout outs:

From the Twitterverse:


Webspotlight:

Ten Totally Random Tips for Teachers:
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2009/09/ten-totally-random-tips-for-teachers.html

Online Conference:  Smithsonian
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/professional_development/conference/2009/climate_change/index.html
(From AK Jenny)

Lesson Plans for Literacy:
http://www.readwritethink.org/

What’s on our Mind:

Mindset by Carol Dweck
http://www.mindsetonline.com/

Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
http://www.danpink.com/

Start of school:

Advisory:

Advisory idea:
1.  Pirate Name Generator
Shawn’s pirate name: Frownin’ Tad Hacke
Troy’s pirate name:  Cowerin’ Joe Smythe

2. Video – Silent Beats
Video on Prejudice. Interesting point of views.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76BboyrEl48

3.  Word Teasers: Idioms
The Word Teasers idiom edition has a “skit” activity that could make for a quick energy game to get kids ready for the day.  Visit them at http://www.wordteasers.com/.

News:

Bait & Switch – Vouchers

For almost two decades, Milwaukee has been home to the country’s oldest and largest voucher program—a beacon of hope for voucher supporters who want to use public dollars to fund private schools. But Milwaukee has now become the latest in a string of setbacks for vouchers.
The Milwaukee study reaffirmed what public school supporters had argued for years: that the problems afflicting urban schools are grounded in economic and racial segregation and the power structure’s willingness to abandon central cities because they are disproportionately populated by low-income people of color.The Milwaukee study follows a number of disheartening developments for voucher advocates.
There is little evidence that voucher or choice programs have succeeded in fostering the emergence of high-quality options.”
Similarly, it is only common sense that voucher students take the same standardized tests as public school and charter students, and that each voucher school release its results, just as public schools provide a school-by-school breakdown. Regardless of the shortcomings of the test, and there are many, such a requirement is essential if all schools that receive public dollars are to be treated equitably.
While private voucher schools cannot discriminate in admitting students with special needs, they are only required to give students those services that can be provided with minor adjustments. As a result, voucher schools have few special ed students.

http://rethinkingschools.org/archive/23_04/bait234.shtml

Blocking Facebook – Balance
Last week, we made a conscious decision to block Facebook from being accessed on our network. …while arguably brimming with educational potential, is most often used for nothing more than recreational interaction among participants.
Rather, it’s a matter of fighting for balance and the cognitive attention of our students.
http://www.techlearning.com/blogs/23300

The Dragon of Chaos (and How to Slay it)
Tips for getting the school year off on the organized foot.
http://cossondra.blogspot.com/2008/11/mighty-dragon-of-chaos-when-you-are.html

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:
NMSA News:

  1. NMSA’s Annual Conference:  NMSA ‘08 Technology Focus Video.  NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video:  Indianapolis, IN Conference  November 5-7, 2009.  Individual Registration is now open.  September 30th early registration deadline is approaching  (Use MAMSE09 as your source code.)
  2. ATTENTION Michigan Association of Middle School Educators & Friends: MAMSE is putting together a bus for the trip to the National Middle School Association’s Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN this fall.  Ride down to the conference in a luxury bus.  With all the conversations with middle school teachers on the bus, I wonder if we could call this a mini-MAMSE conference?  There’s nothing like getting together with people who love the people we love:  our students.  Getting together with folks like that is energizing and priceless.  Email Teresa Sutherland for information and details.  Don’t forget to mention you heard about it on Middle School Matters.
  3. Dan Pink is keynoting the conference.  Here’s a teaser at TED.
  4. NMSA 09 Housing Information now available.
  5. NMSA 09 Conference Connection:  Stay connected before, during, and after the conference!  Start your packing lists for the conference using packwhiz.com!
  6. Bob Spears does an interview on the Evolution of Advisory on NMSA’s podcast.

Other News:

  1. ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week.  Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
  2. The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 18 & 19, 2010.  Jack Berckemeyer will be keynoting.
  3. The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference is coming up March 4-5, 2010 in Dexter, MI.  MAMSE will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary!
  4. The Wisconsin Association of Middle Level Educators is holding their Annual Conference October 8-9, 2009.
  5. Theater Education Opportunity:  Eastern Michigan University’s Quirk-Sponberg Theater has announced their Fall 2009 Season.

    “The Prince, the Wolf and the Firebird”
    By Jackson Lacey
    Directed by Pam Cardell
    December 4, 5, 10, 11 at 7PM
    December 5, 6, 12 at 3PM
    School Matinees: December 9 and 10 at 10:00 am.  Tickets $4.00 for students and every 15 students gets a chaparone in for free.

  6. Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.
  7. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog:  Archived content is available.  This week’s session:  “Web 2.0 Tools Demonstration Using Prezi” by Steve Dembo of the Discovery Education Network.
  8. Second Life:
    • No Events specified.  Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled.  See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.
    • Video:  Educational Uses of Second Life

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Podcast 87: Back to School Special

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Jokes:

With four daughters and one son always dashing to school activities and part-time jobs, our schedule was hectic.

To add to this, we kept running out of household supplies.

I instructed them all to let me know when they used the last of any item by writing it down on a note pad on the refrigerator.

As a reminder, I wrote at the top: “IF WE ARE OUT OF IT, WRITE IT DOWN.”

When I checked the pad a few days later, to my delight I found the following message:

“MOM, YOU MAY BE A BIT OLD-FASHIONED, BUT YOU ARE NOT ‘OUT OF IT.”‘

Things Mom Would Never Say

“How on earth can you see the TV sitting so far back?”

“Yeah, I used to skip school a lot, too”

“Just leave all the lights on … it makes the house look more cheery”

“Let me smell that shirt — Yeah, it’s good for another week”

“Go ahead and keep that stray dog, honey. I’ll be glad to feed and walk him every day”

“Well, if Timmy’s mom says it’s OK, that’s good enough for me.”

“The curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It’s not like I’m running a prison around here.”

“I don’t have a tissue with me … just use your sleeve”

“Don’t bother wearing a jacket – the wind-chill is bound to improve”

Shout outs:

From the Twitterverse:

NMSA Goal Setting

Webspotlight:

Book Suggestions:
http://www.toreadnext.com/

Middle School “Dos and Don’ts”
http://www.teachersfirst.com/20/getsource.cfm?id=7594

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/08/three-student-planners-organization.html

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives:
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vLibrary.html

What’s on our Mind:

Mindset:

The Graphing Calculator Story:  http://www.pacifict.com/Story/  Video:  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7497796873809571567#

1.  How do your regional coordinators stay in contact with you?
2.  Are you a member of your state’s middle school association?
3.  Have you ever attended another state’s middle school association annual conference?
4.  What did you do to survive the first day of school?
5.  Reading a book called “Readicide” at the moment.

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:
NMSA News:

  1. NMSA’s Annual Conference:  NMSA ‘08 Technology Focus Video.  NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video:  Indianapolis, IN Conference  November 5-7, 2009.  Individual Registration is now open.  (Use MAMSE09 as your source code.)
  2. ATTENTION Michigan Association of Middle School Educators & Friends: MAMSE is putting together a bus for the trip to the National Middle School Association’s Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN this fall.  Ride down to the conference in a luxury bus.  With all the conversations with middle school teachers on the bus, I wonder if we could call this a mini-MAMSE conference?  There’s nothing like getting together with people who love the people we love:  our students.  Getting together with folks like that is energizing and priceless.  Email Teresa Sutherland for information and details.  Don’t forget to mention you heard about it on Middle School Matters.
  3. Dan Pink is keynoting the conference.  Here’s a teaser at TED.
  4. NMSA 09 Housing Information now available.
  5. NMSA 09 Conference Connection:  Stay connected before, during, and after the conference!  Start your packing lists for the conference using packwhiz.com!
  6. Bob Spears does an interview on the Evolution of Advisory on NMSA’s podcast.

Other News:

  1. ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week.  Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
  2. The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 18 & 19, 2010.  Jack Berckemeyer will be keynoting.
  3. The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference is coming up March 4-5, 2010 in Dexter, MI.  MAMSE will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary!
  4. The Wisconsin Association of Middle Level Educators is holding their Annual Conference October 8-9, 2009.
  5. Theater Education Opportunity:  Eastern Michigan University’s Quirk-Sponberg Theater has announced their Fall 2009 Season.

    “The Prince, the Wolf and the Firebird”
    By Jackson Lacey
    Directed by Pam Cardell
    December 4, 5, 10, 11 at 7PM
    December 5, 6, 12 at 3PM
    School Matinees: December 9 and 10 at 10:00 am.  Tickets $4.00 for students and every 15 students gets a chaparone in for free.

  6. Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.
  7. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog:  Archived content is available.  This week’s session:  “Web 2.0 Tools Demonstration Using Prezi” by Steve Dembo of the Discovery Education Network.
  8. Second Life:
    • No Events specified.  Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled.  See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.
    • Video:  Educational Uses of Second Life

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Podcast 86: “No! I will not read the intro:” Set the Standard, Pass the Test, Crush the Opposition! – We’re a Toddler Now!

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Jokes:

Son: I can’t go to school today.
Father: Why not?
Son: I don’t feel well
Father: Where don’t you feel well?
Son: In school!
Teacher: You missed school yesterday, didn’t you?
Pupil: Not very much!

Father: I hear you skipped school to play football.
Son: No I didn’t, and I have the fish to prove it!

Pupil (on phone) : My son has a bad cold and won’t be able to come to school today.
School Secretary: Who is this?
Pupil: This is my father speaking!

Father: How do you like going to school?
Son: The going bit is fine, as is the coming home bit too, but I’m not too keen on the time in-between!

Teacher: Class, we will have only half a day of school this morning.
Class: Hooray!
Teacher: We will have the other half this afternoon!

Teacher: Why were you late?
Pupil: Sorry, teacher, I overslept.
Teacher: You mean you need to sleep at home too?!

From the Twitterverse:

Webspotlight:

Have text read out loud:
http://www.readthewords.com/

Fair Use Copyright Chart:
http://www.irvingisd.net/one2one/Cloning/fair_use_copyright_chart.pdf

Idea Finder:
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/index.html

News:

Should students be paid to perform on tests:

http://education.nationaljournal.com/2009/08/should-students-be-paid-to-lea.php

Ohio high school tightens computer security after cheating scandal

Posted by Andrew Welsh-Huggins/Associated Press August 05, 2009 22:48PM

More than half of the seniors at a top Ohio high school who took world studies tests last spring were involved in a cheating scheme that prompted school officials to cancel graduation ceremonies. School officials traced the cheating to a tech-savvy student who figured out a school computer password, and the district has tightened its computer security in the wake of the scandal.

The school also will emphasize ethics to all students in the school year beginning Aug. 26. That includes updating the student handbook.

But Holden acknowledged that the ethics message might not be enough to stop some students from cheating and others from turning a blind eye.

All of society is becoming more accepting “of a degree of dishonesty,” she said.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/08/ohio_high_school_tightens_comp.html
Cheating Survey:  http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/national_world&id=6532050

Wisconsin does away with standardized test

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/08/27/wisconsin-dumps-standardized-test/
City schools increase training for substitutes:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09239/993542-53.stm

Crowd Source Grading:

http://macmomma.blogspot.com/2009/08/is-it-crowdsourcing-or-shirking.html
http://www.hastac.org/blogs/cathy-davidson/how-crowdsource-grading

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:
NMSA News:

  1. NMSA’s Annual Conference:  NMSA ‘08 Technology Focus Video.  NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video:  Indianapolis, IN Conference  November 5-7, 2009.  Individual Registration is now open.
  2. ATTENTION Michigan Association of Middle School Educators & Friends: MAMSE is putting together a bus for the trip to the National Middle School Association’s Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN this fall.  Ride down to the conference in a luxury bus.  With all the conversations with middle school teachers on the bus, I wonder if we could call this a mini-MAMSE conference?  There’s nothing like getting together with people who love the people we love:  our students.  Getting together with folks like that is energizing and priceless.  Email Teresa Sutherland for information and details.  Don’t forget to mention you heard about it on Middle School Matters.
  3. Dan Pink is keynoting the conference.  Here’s a teaser at TED.
  4. NMSA 09 Housing Information now available.
  5. NMSA 09 Conference Connection:  Stay connected before, during, and after the conference!  Start your packing lists for the conference using packwhiz.com!
  6. Bob Spears does an interview on the Evolution of Advisory on NMSA’s podcast.

Other News:

  1. ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week.  Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
  2. The U.S. Government has posted a paper on how schools should treat the H1N1 virus should there be an outbreak during the school year.
  3. The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 18 & 19, 2010.  Jack Berckemeyer will be keynoting.
  4. The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference is coming up March 4-5, 2010 in Dexter, MI.  MAMSE will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary!
  5. The Wisconsin Association of Middle Level Educators is holding their Annual Conference October 8-9, 2009.
  6. Theater Education Opportunity:  Eastern Michigan University’s Quirk-Sponberg Theater has announced their Fall 2009 Season.

    “The Prince, the Wolf and the Firebird”
    By Jackson Lacey
    Directed by Pam Cardell
    December 4, 5, 10, 11 at 7PM
    December 5, 6, 12 at 3PM
    School Matinees: December 9 and 10

  7. Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.
  8. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog:  Archived content is available.
  9. Second Life:
    • No Events specified.  Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled.  See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.
    • Video:  Educational Uses of Second Life

PlayPlay

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MSM-85 Taken to Task

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Joke:

This simple page of alleged creative writing quotations gave me multiple chuckles, fueled with snippets like these:

  • “They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan’s teeth.”
  • “John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.”
  • “He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.”

Shout outs:

  1. Todd Williamson:  Audio response. (Visit Todd at http://thetechnorateteacher.wordpress.com )
  2. Dr. Debra Franciosi:

From the Twitterverse:

FeedBack:

I came across this podcast for the first time today, and while significant time has passed, I cannot let this go without comment. While some parts of your program were interesting, I was disappointed in your lack of critical analysis of the reading research. (Yes, I am in a biased position on this, being employed by one of the study treatment companies, but my doctoral work in ed and research came before my latest venture with CRISS, and there is injustice in this!) You (along with an Ed Week reporter, etc) shared that “none of them [treatments] are effective”. The fact is, a null effect or no positive effect in statistical research does NOT mean a treatment is ineffective. It means they didn’t find results — and that can be for a variety of reasons, including faulty research design. Having read the research report and talked to teachers and trainers (for CRISS), I know that the design was flawed, as was the way the researchers grouped the info. CRISS is the only one of the treatments that is a professional development program, NOT a canned curriculum. All four were treated as the same thing. Even if the design wasn’t flawed, the researchers themselves stated that the study demonstrates likely outcomes in a “typical” implementation. In the case of many of the sites CRISS worked with, teachers had NO input into their participation and therefore NO BUY-IN. Some teachers did not show up for the trainings, but the test data was kept in the mix anyway. It makes no sense.
Before I started working for CRISS last September, I taught middle school for 9 years and was the 6-12 Literacy Specialist for 3. We implemented CRISS at the high school and the teachers that participated loved it and used what they learned — and saw positive results. But it takes time (3 years to get teachers fully implementing, with regular support); changing pedagogy isn’t easy.
That said, gentlemen, I ask that you revisit adolescent literacy again — maybe after looking at the report that came out last spring(Ed Week March or April?)that noted that random control/treatment studies done by the IES are consistently coming out with null effects. It appears that education does not fit into that paradigm of research design. Kids aren’t widgets, and you can’t control for all the chaos that human subjects bring to public schools. There ARE concrete things educators can do to improve students’ literacy. No canned program (or professional development, for that matter) required.
Thanks!
Dr. Debra Franciosi

California should fund Music:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/30/EDQ01910HK.DTL

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:
NMSA News:

  1. NMSA’s Annual Conference:  NMSA ‘08 Technology Focus Video.  NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video:  Indianapolis, IN Conference  November 5-7, 2009.  Individual Registration is now open.
  2. ATTENTION Michigan Association of Middle School Educators & Friends: MAMSE is putting together a bus for the trip to the National Middle School Association’s Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN this fall.  Ride down to the conference in a luxury bus.  With all the conversations with middle school teachers on the bus, I wonder if we could call this a mini-MAMSE conference?  There’s nothing like getting together with people who love the people we love:  our students.  Getting together with folks like that is energizing and priceless.  Email Teresa Sutherland for information and details.  Don’t forget to mention you heard about it on Middle School Matters.
  3. NMSA 09 Housing Information now available.
  4. NMSA 09 Conference Connection:  Stay connected before, during, and after the conference!  Start your packing lists for the conference using packwhiz.com!
  5. Keynote speakers for NMSA ’09 have been announced:  Daniel Pink (political connections) opens and Rick Wormeli closes.
  6. NMSA has a new publication on the role of middle grades in drop-out prevention.  You can download it as a pdf file.
  7. Middle Level Promise and Practice Moorhead, Minnesota August 5, 2009
    Speakers: Mark McCleod & Monte Selby

Other News:

  1. ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week.  Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
  2. The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference is coming up March 4-5, 2010 in Dexter, MI.  MAMSE will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary!
  3. Theater Education Opportunity:  Eastern Michigan University’s Quirk-Sponberg Theater has announced their Fall 2009 Season.

    “The Prince, the Wolf and the Firebird”
    By Jackson Lacey
    Directed by Pam Cardell
    December 4, 5, 10, 11 at 7PM
    December 5, 6, 12 at 3PM
    School Matinees: December 9 and 10

  4. Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.
  5. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog:  This week’s discussion is on “Telling Stories with Digital Threads“ for Teachers.  Archived content is available.
  6. Second Life:
    • No Events specified.  Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled.  See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.
    • Video:  Educational Uses of Second Life

MSM-84 Interview with Jeff LaRoux

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We have a special treat for you this week. This week is our interview with the wonderful, talented and gifted Mr. Jeff LaRoux. For those of you who don’t know Mr. LaRoux, he is an expert in middle school. I’ve had the privilege to visit his previous school and I can attest that he is one of those rare educators who is deeply, deeply in tune with middle school students and educators.

Mr. LaRoux is truly a specialist in advisory as well as all things middle school.

Oh, by the way, he is also on the National Middle School Association’s Board.

Enjoy.

Podcast 83- Fine Me Already!

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Some excuse notes:

“Please excuse John for being absent Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33.”

“Mary could not go to school because she was bothered by very close veins.”

“Ralph was absent yesterday because of a sour throat.”

“Please excuse Joey Friday. He had loose vowels.”

“Please excuse Joyce from jim today.”

“Please excuse Roland from P.E. for a few days. He fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip.”

“Karl was hit yesterday playing football. He was hurt in the growing part.”

“John was absent yesterday because he had a stomach.”

“Please excuse Gloria. She has been sick and under the doctor.”

“My son will have to get out of school as soon as I call the orthodontist, one of his wrie’s is brusted and sticking in his Gum’s.”

“Please excuse Sarah from being absent yesterday. She was sick and I had her shot.”

“My son is under the doctors care and should not take P.E. Please execute him.”

“Irving was absent this morning because he missed his bust.”

“Please excuse Johnny for being. It was his father’s fault.”

Shout outs:

1. Todd Williamson: Thanks for the feedback and the plug at your PD session! (MiddleTalk is 1.0?)
2. Russian poster: Genadiy P. Running your posts through the Google Translator as we speak …
3. Dave Carroll: “United Breaks Guitars” catchy tune that I can’t get out of my head …

4. Jenny Mcavoy-Anteau: Special Education Discussion

From the Twitterverse:

* russeltarr PhotoPeach: Create movies from photos (simpler than Animoto – for younger students?): http://tinyurl.com/mn3zqm
* russeltarr 30 (and more) things every newbie should know before starting Second Life: http://tinyurl.com/mhsq3p
* schoolwise Interesting article on Rhee & D.C. testing results: http://tinyurl.com/nouco8
* suewaters Scotty beam me up am sitting with true geeks #bcperth09 & swear they aren’t talking English I may need people tweeting jokes to help me 🙂
* mguhlin Links for 2009-07-17 [del.icio.us] http://ff.im/-5nF2I
* suewaters New blog post: Personal Identity & Your Online Persona (or – Don’t get pwn’d) http://bit.ly/vn7iR
* mguhlin Future of Education Interview July 16th: “Liberating Learning: Technology, Politics, and the Future of American… http://ff.im/-5nt14
* clifmims Wanting to start my own online radio station. Which of the many services (Last.fm, blip.fm, pandora, Playlist.com, etc.) do you suggest?
* eduinnovation Professional Learning Communities are expert at looking internally, but now we need the external focus too. http://twurl.nl/rumpdz
* pcmike Police chief denounces ‘cowardly’ iPhone users monitoring speed traps | http://ow.ly/hzbX
* rmbyrne Funny, but sadly sometimes true posters about tech in education. Grumpy Old Teacher: Inspirational Posters http://ff.im/-5n1E0
* gardenglen Downloading http://gawker.sourceforge.net/ as a way to create Time Lapse video on Macs
* asbellaRT @ecctech: My new best friend for PD tech training http://bit.ly/roBIJ
* russeltarr Amateurs use Google Earth to uncover Kim’s sinister secrets: http://tinyurl.com/kmhete
* suewaters Okay people help me out here – Mr14 needs to interview some one who is extra ordinary in terms did something really cool, money, etc
* eduinnovation I always wanted to “be somebody”, but now I realize that I should have been more specific.
* teach42 One more shoutout: Looking for education examples of specific Web 2.0 sites. http://tinyurl.com/l7nnye to see the list. Would like the help!
*

Woodlawn Elementary thinks outside the book to pull D to a B

By Sylvia Lim, Times Correspondent
In Print: Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Last fall, Woodlawn Elementary’s math teachers locked up their textbooks in a music room closet. Instead of textbooks, teachers used games, group assignments and other materials. They also focused on showing students different ways to solve the same problem.

“It was scary for people at first, but just about everybody embraced the idea of what we were trying to do,” she said.

Students seemed to respond.

“With our school population, they like things to be a little faster and fun. We need to bring that into math.”

“We took the math book out of classroom so teachers won’t follow it page by page,” Proper said. “We were trying to get children to do some critical thinking.”

Those included looping, where teachers stay with the same students for two years in a row. The school started a reading challenge, where students are asked to read a book for 15 or 30 minutes a night. School administrators formed a writing team that assisted teachers and students in classrooms.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/article1014663.ece Source: Education Innovation

Students hit with a $15 fine for cell phones in school.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=8074283&page=1
Texas passed a law which allows schools to confiscate student cell phones and charge $15 for their return. The money goes into the school’s coffers and can only be used for enrichment activities that go beyond the classroom.

Parent Involvement Meta-analysis

namely academic socialization, that has the strongest positive relation with achievement during middle school. School-based involvement was also positively related to achievement, but less strongly so. Finally, the results for home-based involvement were mixed. Involvement that entailed assisting with homework was not consistently associated with achievement, whereas other types of home-based involvement were positively related to achievement.
Academic socialization includes parents’ communication of their expectations for achievement and value for education, fostering educational and occupational aspirations in their adolescents, discussing learning strategies with children, and making preparations and plans for the future, including linking material discussed in school with students’ interests and goals.
http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/dev453740.pdf

New Classroom Rules:

http://educationinnovation.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/06/new-classroom-rules.html

1. Come to school every day, unless you would rather just go on line.

2. Come to class on time, or log into your online class anytime day or night, whenever it is most convenient to you.

3. Leave your seat only when necessary, which should be often to go collaborate with others or demonstrate something to the class.

4. Bring required materials, including your laptop and cell phone every day.

5. Talk only when permitted, text at all other times.

6. Don’t Talk to your neighbors, unless you are sharing your ideas, asking for help or giving help.

7. Use polite speech when speaking, blogging, texting, Twittering, instant messaging, etc.

8. Do not cheat, but remix, re-purpose, and sample other peoples’ work and ideas and give them credit.

9. Follow the teacher’s directions immediately and your peers’ directions too.

10. Be polite, courteous, and respectful at all times in both physical and virtual space.

11. Complete all assignments neatly and on time and submit on line or post to your blog or wiki, and share it with your followers on Twitter.

12. Keep your hands to yourself, but share all your ideas and knowledge with others in your Personal Learning Network.

13. Be quiet in lines, hallways, and restrooms, unless you are at home and logged into your on line classroom, in which case you can dance and play music.

14. If you need help raise your hand, but don’t wait for the teacher get help from your neighbors and post your question to your online Personal Learning Network.

15. Know what you are supposed to be learning, why, and what you will do with the knowledge.

Source: Education Innovation

Homework:
Cooper said the amount of homework in America actually hasn’t changed that much over the past 50 years except that there has been an increase in the amount given in the early grades.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31910894/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

National Advocacy for Middle School
On June 26, 2009, Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) reintroduced Success in the Middle (H.R. 3006/S. 1362) a Act bill that would authorize grants to states and school districts to help improve middle grades education and turn around low-performing middle schools.
http://www.nmsa.org/Advocacy/MessagesfromNMSA/SuccessintheMiddleAct/tabid/1482/Default.aspx

Top Ranked Finland Gives A Reason for Rejecting National Testing
http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/2009/07/top-ranked-finland-offers-reason-for.html

Social Media: What Employers Think
http://www.cnbc.com/id/31924270

Twitter 101 for Educators
http://www.examiner.com/x-12200-Dallas-Educational-Technology-Examiner~y2009m7d18-Twitter-101-for-educators

Tech:

Resources:
http://teachersconnecting.com/
Save yourself money on your cell phone: http://www.myvalidas.com/
Back to School Shopping:

* Coldwater Creek promo code: Enter Offer Code WKH6141 in offer code box at checkout. Also try WKH6144 for 25% off of online purchases.
* Footsmart: 60% off shoes.
* The SkinStore is having a 50% off sale on skin products/warpaint . . .
* J. Jill has 25% off selected items through July 26, 2009.

Library of Congress has collections of primary sources for teachers to use in their classrooms. http://www.loc.gov/teachers/
Spinscape is looking for educators to help pilot their roll out into the education sector. Spinscape is a collaborative information sharing technology that could help your students create
collaborative and informative projects.

Events & Happenings:
Calendar of Events:
NMSA News:

1. NMSA’s Annual Conference: NMSA ‘08 Technology Focus Video. NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video: Indianapolis, IN Conference November 5-7, 2009. Individual Registration is now open.
2. ATTENTION Michigan Association of Middle School Educators & Friends: MAMSE is putting together a bus for the trip to the National Middle School Association’s Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN this fall. Ride down to the conference in a luxury bus. With all the conversations with middle school teachers on the bus, I wonder if we could call this a mini-MAMSE conference? There’s nothing like getting together with people who love the people we love: our students. Getting together with folks like that is energizing and priceless. Email Teresa Sutherland for information and details. Don’t forget to mention you heard about it on Middle School Matters.
3. NMSA 09 Housing Information now available.
4. NMSA 09 Conference Connection: Stay connected before, during, and after the conference! Start your packing lists for the conference using packwhiz.com!
5. Keynote speakers for NMSA ’09 have been announced: Daniel Pink (political connections) opens and Rick Wormeli closes.
6. NMSA has a new publication on the role of middle grades in drop-out prevention. You can download it as a pdf file.
7. Middle Level Promise and Practice Moorhead, Minnesota August 5, 2009
Speakers: Mark McCleod & Monte Selby

Other News:

1. ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
2. The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference is coming up March 4-5, 2010 in Dexter, MI. MAMSE will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary!
3. Theater Education Opportunity: Eastern Michigan University’s Quirk-Sponberg Theater has announced their Fall 2009 Season.

“The Prince, the Wolf and the Firebird”
By Jackson Lacey
Directed by Pam Cardell
December 4, 5, 10, 11 at 7PM
December 5, 6, 12 at 3PM
School Matinees: December 9 and 10
4. Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.
5. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog: This week’s discussion is on “Telling Stories with Digital Threads” for Teachers. Archived content is available.
6. Second Life:
* No Events specified. Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.
* Video: Educational Uses of Second Life

MSM- 82 Interview with Teresa Sutherland

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Enjoy an interview with MAMSE (Michigan Association of Middle School Educators) President Teresa Sutherland. We are pretty pleased with the sound quality. Mostly though, we are pleased with the quality of Teresa’s answers. Look for an interview with Mr. Jeff LaRoux coming soon.

Podcast #81 MIJEC, National Standards & the IRS.

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Microsoft runs the I.R.S.

If Microsoft Ran The IRS

“Government should be run like a business.” We’ve all heard that chestnut. Here is how the Internal Revenue Service (nobody’s favorite government agency) would be like, if only it were run like Microsoft Corp. (a successful private enterprise).

— The IRS, as always, announces new tax forms will be mailed the week before the new year. However it will follow Microsoft’s example and actually ship them the following May.

— Responding to pressure from some large corporations and a users’ group, some early copies of the tax forms will actually be released in March. The recipients must sign non-disclosure agreements.

— In June, the forms will be recalled because the IRS loses a suit for appropriating some other country’s intellectual property.

— When you move, the IRS will continue to send mail to your previous address forevermore, just like Microsoft sends its product upgrade notices.

— When you upgrade from form 1040 EZ to 1040 A, and then to 1040, you will pay an upgrade fee each time. Also you need to send in a new registration card and get a new Social Security Number. In order to upgrade, you have to submit the original first page of your previous year’s form.

— Like Microsoft, when you file a late or amended tax return the IRS will reject it on the grounds that the the prior year is no longer supported.

— The IRS telephone help will remain similar to Microsoft’s, staffed by ill-trained, high-turnover personnel who sometimes give a correct answer, but the IRS will have to discontinue using a toll-free phone number.

— After struggling with reams of dense documentation of complex options and rules, you discover that you will need publication 3297, with a ten-word-long title, in order to answer (you hope) a single obscure question. The IRS, like Microsoft, will charge a minimum of $40 for that publication.

— The IRS, like Microsoft, will continue to issue immense volumes of bug fixes, interpretations, and clarifications. However the tax-rule updates should be neither easily searchable nor well-indexed.

— Instead of three-ring binders containing complete sets of tax code bugs and interpretations, IRS rulings will be promulgated in a haphazard fashion by individual taxpayers via BBS, Usenet, and Compuserve. A for- profit publishing subsidiary would also be nice.

— The new all-powerful (and eccentric) Commissioner of Internal Revenue will jet around the country giving speeches and granting numerous interviews, but only to sycophantic reporters. Changes to the tax code will be at the whim of the Commissioner and largely kept secret until they are published.

Michigan Joint Education Conference

Traverse City Special Education Visual Guide

HyperStudio 5

For Michigan Educators:
http://mel.org/SPT–BrowseResourcesNewMeL.php

Shout Outs:

Jeff LaRoux & Teresa Sutherland:  Thanks for the Interview!
Kevin Galbraith:  Thanks for the mention in your session on Podcasting at MI Champs!

From the Twitterverse:

News:

Texas shuns common standards for schools

By LINDSAY KASTNER SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Texas has always been known for its independent streak.

Now the state is one of four that is sitting out an effort to create voluntary national standards for what students are expected to learn in school.

Forty-six states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are on board with the project, which is spearheaded by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is a backer. Sunday he sweetened his support with $350 million in federal stimulus money to be used for the creation of national tests.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6491086.html

House barely agrees, 58-57, to send the bill to Perdue

BY LYNN BONNER, JENNIFER KLAHRE AND LUCI CHAVEZ – STAFF WRITERS

Students and administrators might as well be living on different planets when it comes to school bullying.
Students say it is common for bullies to taunt and hit them or their classmates, and for teachers to do little to stop it. Superintendents and principals say that bullying is a small problem and that policies to discourage it work well.
The bill requires that teachers, students and volunteers report any incidents of bullying, but it leaves the details of reporting procedures and punishments up to the school districts.

http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1581091.html

Executive Summary

The Opportunity Equation. Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy

The United States must mobilize for excellence in mathematics and science education so that all students— not just a select few, or those fortunate enough to attend certain schools—achieve much higher levels of math and science learning. Over the coming decades, today’s young people will depend on the skills and knowledge developed from learning math and science to analyze problems, imagine solutions, and bring productive new ideas into being.
Knowledge and skills from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—the so-called STEM fields—are crucial to virtually every endeavor of individual and community life.

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

  1. The National Middle School Association is looking for an editor for their Research in Middle Level Education Journal (RMLE).
  2. NMSA’s Annual Conference:  NMSA ‘08 Technology Focus Video.  NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video:  Indianapolis, IN Conference  November 5-7, 2009.  Individual Registration is now open.
  3. ATTENTION Michigan Association of Middle School Educators & Friends: MAMSE is putting together a bus for the trip to the National Middle School Association’s Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN this fall.  Ride down to the conference in a luxury bus.  With all the conversations with middle school teachers on the bus, I wonder if we could call this a mini-MAMSE conference?  There’s nothing like getting together with people who love the people we love:  our students.  Getting together with folks like that is energizing and priceless.  Email Teresa Sutherland for information and details.  Don’t forget to mention you heard about it on Middle School Matters.
  4. NMSA 09 Conference Connection:  Stay connected before, during, and after the conference!  Start your packing lists for the conference using packwhiz.com!
  5. Keynote speakers for NMSA ’09 have been announced:  Daniel Pink (political connections) opens and Rick Wormeli closes.
  6. NMSA has a new publication on the role of middle grades in drop-out prevention.  You can download it as a pdf file.
  7. Institute for Middle Level Leadership Santa Ana Pueblo, NM July 12-15, 2009; Ft. Lauderdale FL July 19-22, 2009
    Registration Still Open Deadline Extended
  8. ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week.  Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
  9. The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference is coming up March 4-5, 2010 in Dexter, MI.  MAMSE will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary!
  10. Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.
  11. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog:  This week’s discussion is on “The BUZZ about LearnCentral” for Teachers.  Archived content is available.
  12. Second Life:
    • No Events specified.  Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled.  See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.
    • Video:  Educational Uses of Second Life

http://www.opportunityequation.org/report/executive-summary/

Podcast #80: Departmentalization of School: Twitter, Cell phones, and Content!

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Teacher Questions & Answers:

Are you in the top half of your class?
No, I’m one of the students who make the top half possible!

The picture of the horse is good, but where is the wagon?
The horse will draw it!

Why are you picking your nose in class?
My mother won’t let me do it at home!

Why are you reading the last pages of your history book first?
I want to know how it ends!

What can we do to stop polluting our waters?
Stop taking baths?

Can’t you retain anything in your head overnight?
Of course, I’ve had this cold in my head for two days!

Shout Outs:

From the Twitterverse:

Sparkly Moments:

Marzano  & Smartboards:
http://www.edutopia.org/interactive-whiteboards-technology-success

News:

Palm Beach County elementary school changes face opposition

Students in grades 3 through 5 will switch classes
By Marc Freeman |South Florida Sun Sentinel6:54 PM EDT, June 8, 2009

Parents at A-rated Boca Raton area elementary schools are raising the threat level over a mandatory plan to drop the traditional one-teacher model in grades 3 through 5. The plan is called departmentalization, in which students have different teachers for reading/language arts, math, science and social studies, similar to middle school. Principals are free to use this model for first and second grades and even kindergarten. Students who are eligible for gifted classes will continue to receive the same amount of specialized instruction, Hernandez said. At the Del Prado meeting, parents asked for research or some proof that student performance improves under departmentalization. Some parents also opposed the change on the grounds that their schools are already performing at high levels and should stay the course.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-palm-elementary-classes-p060809,0,4191006.story

Rising Above I.Q.

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: June 6, 2009
In the mosaic of America, three groups that have been unusually successful are Asian-Americans, Jews and West Indian blacks — and in that there may be some lessons for the rest of us. These three groups may help debunk the myth of success as a simple product of intrinsic intellect, for they represent three different races and histories. Richard Nisbett cites each of these groups in his superb recent book, “Intelligence and How to Get It.” In any case, he says, the evidence is overwhelming that what is distinctive about these three groups is not innate advantage but rather a tendency to get the most out of the firepower they have.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/opinion/07kristof.html?_r=1&em

Guidance program promising

Instead of telling kids to avoid bad behavior, “Positive Action” sets out a framework

By Susan Essoyan

A new study shows that fifth-graders in Hawaii who took part in a schoolwide behavioral program called “Positive Action” were about half as likely to try drugs, alcohol, weapons or sex as their peers in other schools. Unlike programs that focus simply on avoiding risky behaviors, Positive Action gives students a comprehensive framework to guide their behavior, with daily 15-minute interactive lessons. Ala Wai Elementary Principal Charlotte Unni said yesterday that initially she was reluctant to try the program, but now is a convert. Positive Action, a kindergarten-to-12th-grade curriculum, was created more than two decades ago, but this was the first randomized, scientific trial of its efficacy, according to Brian Flay, principal investigator in the study. Those results contrast with studies of DARE, the most widely implemented program on preventing drug abuse in the country, which takes place in fifth or sixth grades. In 2001, the U.S. Surgeon General concluded that DARE does not deter substance abuse. The program costs about $300 to $400 per classroom up front, plus 10 to 15 percent of that per year, Flay said. “It’s very cost-effective, because the costs to society of a kid who becomes a drug user or engages in violence are very high,” he said.
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20090619_Guidance_program_promising.html

Survey: Many teens use phones in class to text or cheat

One-fourth of teens’ cellphone text messages are sent during class, a new survey finds, despite widespread classroom bans on cellphones at school. The survey of 1,013 teens — 84% of whom have cellphones — also shows that a significant number have stored information on a cellphone to look at during a test or have texted friends about answers.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-06-17-cellphones-in-class_N.htm

But What Do I Say?

Benjamin Dotger and Mara Sapon-Shevin

John Smith, a 15-year-old student who is interested in music, has started avoiding the band room. He’s wary of that side of the school and asks his mother to drop him off each morning near a different entrance.

Ms. Laffett is a young teacher who recently received her teaching certificate. She loves the pace of her job and thrives on the challenge of teaching English to teenagers, but she has no idea what to say when Mrs. Smith comes in for a conference.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/summer09/vol66/num09/But_What_Do_I_Say%C2%A2.aspx

No Longer Letting Scores Separate Pupils

Sixth graders at Cloonan Middle School here are assigned numbers based on their previous year’s standardized test scores — zeros indicate the highest performers, ones the middle, twos the lowest — that determine their academic classes for the next three years. So in an unusual experiment, Cloonan mixed up its sixth-grade science and social studies classes last month, combining zeros and ones with twos. These mixed-ability classes have reported fewer behavior problems and better grades for struggling students, but have also drawn complaints of boredom from some high-performing students who say they are not learning as much. Educators have debated for decades how to best divide students into classes. Some school districts focus on providing extra instruction to low achievers or developing so-called gifted programs for the brightest students, but few maintain tracking like Stamford’s middle schools (tracking is less comprehensive and rigid at the town’s elementary and high schools). David Rudolph, Cloonan’s principal, said that parents have long complained that the tracking numbers assigned to students dictate not only their classes but also their friends and cafeteria cliques.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/education/15stamford.html?_r=1

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

  1. The National Middle School Association is looking for an editor for their Research in Middle Level Education Journal (RMLE).
  2. NMSA’s Annual Conference:  NMSA ‘08 Technology Focus Video.  NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video:  Indianapolis, IN Conference  November 5-7, 2009.  Individual Registration is now open.
  3. ATTENTION Michigan Association of Middle School Educators & Friends: MAMSE is putting together a bus for the trip to the National Middle School Association’s Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN this fall.  Ride down to the conference in a luxury bus.  With all the conversations with middle school teachers on the bus, I wonder if we could call this a mini-MAMSE conference?  There’s nothing like getting together with people who love the people we love:  our students.  Getting together with folks like that is energizing and priceless.  Email Teresa Sutherland for information and details.  Don’t forget to mention you heard about it on Middle School Matters.
  4. NMSA 09 Conference Connection:  Stay connected before, during, and after the conference!  Start your packing lists for the conference using packwhiz.com!
  5. Keynote speakers for NMSA ’09 have been announced:  Daniel Pink (political connections) opens and Rick Wormeli closes.
  6. NMSA has a new publication on the role of middle grades in drop-out prevention.  You can download it as a pdf file.
  7. Schools to Watch Conference June 25-27, Washington D.C.  Conference registration info.
  8. Institute for Middle Level Leadership Santa Ana Pueblo, NM July 12-15, 2009; Ft. Lauderdale FL July 19-22, 2009
    Registration Still Open Deadline Extended
  9. Educational Technology Leadership Conference, June 24th at Holt High School, Holt, MI. Register for the event.
  10. ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week.  Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
  11. The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference is coming up March 4-5, 2010 in Dexter, MI.  MAMSE will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary!
  12. Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.
  13. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog:  This week’s discussion is on “The BUZZ about LearnCentral” for Teachers.  Archived content is available.
  14. Second Life:
    • No Events specified.  Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled.  See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.
    • Video:  Educational Uses of Second Life

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